a/c compressor question

[ttms91xj]

i have a buddy i work with say that he heard that you can convert an a/c compressor into an onboard air compressor. any truth to this? or is it just a stupid idea that'll never work

[Monkeyevil]

It works... but for the price of a york, it's not really worth it.

[Haggar]

As mentioned... yes, you can. However, modern AC compressors are lubricated by the Freon flow itself(which contains added lubricants)... so running them with just air eventually will kill them.

Older york compressors I believe run a separate oil sump so they work much better.

[Yetti]

the biggest problem is they have no volume. they are high pressure and designed to work in a closed loop, so the volume is the very minimum

[Monkeyevil]

Originally Posted by Haggar

As mentioned... yes, you can. However, modern AC compressors are lubricated by the Freon flow itself(which contains added lubricants)... so running them with just air eventually will kill them.

Older york compressors I believe run a separate oil sump so they work much better.

A few of the Sandens are oiled internally, but I haven't seen many. And the CFM just isn't as good as even the smallest york.

[noodles]

where about do you pick up a york?? and is there any brackets for a 318?

[clarkstoncracker]

As much as I hate to say it, SkooterBuilt did a sweet onboard air system.. You may want to contact him via PM..

Any offroad shop can sell you a york compressor.. And there are enough fabricators on this site, that one would have time to make up a bracket.

[Haggar]

Originally Posted by noodles

where about do you pick up a york?? and is there any brackets for a 318?

Junkyards (www.car-part.com)... probably came OEM on 318s on lots of dodges... don't know what years, or what belt routing, so you'd have to figure that out yourself..

[cornfed]

Originally Posted by Haggar

Junkyards... probably came OEM on 318s on lots of dodges... don't know what years

I would suggest looking for older vehicles, like pre-'85. Yorks were used on all types of vehicles, so ignore the Volvo or Ford only BS your bound to find on the web.

Here's some light reading for anything thing technical you want to know about the York compressors. http://www.kilbyenterprises.com/york.htm

[GMCsonoma94]

York is the way to go, but if you want to run another compressor you can legthen its life by running a inline oiler and using the oil that your compressor uses (PAG4 and whatnot)

[Tonka]

www.onboardair.com (Brad Kilby's site, good guy)